[mooseknuckles]

I'm curious how common this is with SA.

For the last 10 years or so (I'm 27 now) I have played online games way too much. I guess I crave the social interaction, but because I can type instead of speak it negates any anxiety.

At times it got so bad I dropped out of college, quit a job or two, and blew off real life friends. The last couple years have been a little better. Maybe I'm outgrowing it, but I still spend more time than I should either on my Xbox or WoW.

 

[calexandre]

I don't believe online game addiction is a bad thing, because I personally do know people who live in such unacceptable and even abusive social conditions that without the games they play, they'd simply fall to the Dark Side. Permanently!

I myself employ online games to let me explore topics that I can't in real life - being a virtual fighter pilot lets you study military history, and tests your intelligence in tactical battles against others in multiplayer, for instance.

They key is to manage your real and virtual commitments, and not let the virtual one override your real self. They don't pay you to play games! But as aforementioned, you can get a lot of gains from social interaction and topical studies - make use of it!

I do understand that most people will ignore the benefits of virtual socialisation and just tell you on the spot that it is "bad and harmful". I believe this is not very objective, as there are always two sides to a coin.

Having multiple personalities is considered a mental disorder.

In another perspective, having multiple personalities equates to having excellent problem solving skills in the corporate world! Innovative solutions and business opportunities come from being able to see our world from an angle that other people can't!

 

[MaidMarian]

I live with someone addicted to online games. He spends virtually every waking hour that he isn't at work, on the PC. And yes, he does have SA. Playing computer games is fun, I know that, I do it myself sometimes. But when it starts taking over your whole life, interfering with personal relationships and daily life, something isn't right.

 

[shyvr6]

I would mainly play just because it's fun.

 

[Traci]

I definately was addicted to WoW during highschool but I finally quit and I did get back into maybe 4-5 months ago but was able to control myself and not play it all day/all night. Now I'm back to quitting again cause I got bored with it, heheh.

 

[Wirt]

I get addicted to games in the midst of playing them. Like ill have a hard time wanting to start playing fallout 3, but once i do start playing it's always "ill discover this next cluster of areas and THEN turn it off", which never happens.

Online I get worn out quick and leave after a couple hours, but then want to start playing again a couple hours later

I get more addicted to waiting for games. Unfortunately they just announced assassins creed 2, so ill have that to think about constantly for a year. I still manage not to get disappointed, even after waiting for the first one for years and everyone else seemed to hate it

 

[Zeddicus]

Well, I'm actually one of those guys that can just walk into an arcade and set a high score on any of the arcade machines with just one or two quarters, and yeah, I'm pretty addicted. I pretty much played online games to the max since I was three years old and am only now getting kind of burned out on any type of game as I realize that there is much more out there then just reaching the same old "high" in any game I play and then searching for a new game, only to do the same thing; I've simply play too many games.

 

[Eric32]

I used to play online games more hours a day than I slept.

 

[coldmorning]

It can get very serious as an addiction. There have only been a few games where I would say I was addicted but I spent every possible free moment I had on playing those games. And whatever else I was doing... work, socializing, eating... I'd be thinking about the game, strategizing, etc.

 

[aviationboy]

yeah i bought left 4 dead and i have been playing about 4 hours a day since. great game though

 

[Zeddicus]

yeah i bought left 4 dead and i have been playing about 4 hours a day since. great game though

I was actually playing that today until some Zoey came into the server I was in, friendly-fired everyone, then walked off the edge of the building. I just shook my head and decided to take a nap.

 

[Scrub-Zero]

I'm seriously addicted to games. Right now i'm playing fallout 3 and oblivion with a lot of mods, so you can imagine how much of my time those two games take. Today i woke up at 10:30 am and started playing and i just stopped now at 9:17 pm(did take a couple of breaks here and there) I've been doing this for about 2 weeks now...everyday lol.
And in about an hour i'll play again until 12 or 1 am :lol

Oh and i'm also playing this MMO called mabinogi in the evening with my girlfriend.
yup...*hides*

but i don't feel so bad about it. I don't like tv, i don't watch a lot of movies and i don't read much. My hobby is videogames. I like escaping into a new world and games provide that for me.
I just wish i could work, though, but for now i can't(depression and anxiety) so i have to pass the time somehow, right?

 

[calexandre]

so i have to pass the time somehow, right?

The thing is, most people can tell you about how you should "go out and do other things" but the truth is - is there anything else you can do that provides you with the same mental stimulation as games do?

For a lot of people, the answer is no, and there are a lot of worse alternatives really. Just so you don't take the gaming experience too seriously and use it to cure your depression and anxiety, I'll leave it up to you.

 

[softconcrete]

once i started to play counter strike source i loved it. i know what you mean about the social interaction thing its nice to be able to type to people you dont know and have a conversation. i wish i could play but my computer has a bad virus and wont let me play :/. I would waste my days away playing its fun but its a bad habit. you should try to get out of the house and get some fresh air.

 

[calexandre]

I started in CS too, back when it was beta 3 or so.

The ability to make use of the various SWAT style tactics I've read when I was young was such a welcome relief from social dilemmas of growing up years. I then moved on to progressively more complex things with great emphasis on realistic sims, and then, sci fi and fantasy stuff which developed my writing skills tremendously, from the mere exercise of roleplaying.

What better way to make use of imagination and spare mental capacity! Learn new things!

 

[bowlingpins]

There are better things to do than gaming. It is really not worth it, please just let go. It will be hard initially but within few weeks of completely stopping you won't even miss them and you will wonder why you ever played video games. I used to play a lot 3 years ago, at the time I didn't feel it was wrong because I was doing ok in school and work. It's only after I quit that I realize how much opportunity I wasted during those years of gaming.
Best way to quit is to distract yourself by finding another activity you like.

 

[snowfly]

There are better things to do than gaming. It is really not worth it, please just let go. It will be hard initially but within few weeks of completely stopping you won't even miss them and you will wonder why you ever played video games.

This isn't very good advice. Some people don't have a world of opportunities waiting for them when they leave their games. I played one for 4 years, and although I do regret all the time I spent on it, I made some very good friends I still talk to today and would have had no other way of communicating with people my age. My real life could have been ****, but there was always that place I could escape to everyday and talk to my friends when I had no one else. I quit a few times but always ended up going back. Yes I was addicted, but that didn't matter much when I had nothing else to keep me grounded.

Online games are like a haven for people with SA. 4/5 of the people I became friends with had it to some degree. It's easy to get caught up in an alternate reality where your true self can come out and not have to worry about everything that crosses your mind when actually talking to some irl.

 

[bowlingpins]

Alright, I was speaking from personal experience but if you feel gaming is helping you then that's ok. The games of today involve more social networking than what they once did so I guess there are some advantages.